Coming Down
by AbedNadir
Summary: Lucaya college AU based on the Halsey song 'Coming Down'. With a long history between them, Maya and Lucas complicate things by sleeping together.
1. The Mystery Lover

_His breath warms her naked skin, travelling downwards from the nape of her neck, down the centre of her breasts, in between the ribs and finally crosses the stomach and rests between the thighs. Maya tugs at the sheets, leaning her head backwards and pressing it into the cushions that comfort her bare back. A soft moan escapes her lips. He glances upwards, a wicked grin creeping across his face. He loves being the cause behind those pleasured sounds. His fingers run upwards from her delicate thighs as her brings his head back up and glides his body over hers so they're face to face. Her hair is untamed, her lips swollen and he can see red patches of where he sucked her delicate neck. Beautiful. He dips down and presses a small light kiss on her eager lips, smiling against them at the thought of how she was making him feel. Her own hands trace his chest gently. His hair falls in his face as he stares down into her crystal blue eyes, and his hands slightly shake at how cold the air feels against his back when he can feel the heat radiating off Maya on his front as she moves herself to kiss him again. His lips taste of tangerines._

 _As their bodies intertwine, Maya feels lost, like she's floating in outer space and he's her only anchor to any sense of reality. The only things she's aware of are his lips, his body and the way in which he moans her name into her ear. In the moment that's all that matters. What comes after was the hard part._

* * *

"You disappeared so quickly last night." Riley points out to Maya as they sit down to eat their lunch on the grass outside the university.

It's their third year of university and classes have just started again. The air is still warm and sitting outside is a nice escape from the chaos that reigns within the buildings.

Maya waves over Farkle quickly as a distraction but the moment he sits down he merely places a quick tender kiss on Rileys cheek and joins in the conversation so the focus is back on Maya.

"I found some friends from class and went to hang out with them. It's not a big deal." Maya lied smoothly enough. She hated everything about this, she never had secrets from Riley.

"Your friends came looking for you." Riley queried. "Who were you really with?"

"Come on Maya." Farkle teased and Maya wondered how she could lie again. Or at least avoid the truth.

"Fine. I met a guy last night. Things got a little heated and we went back to his and...it was fun." Maya briefly explained, but she could feel herself heating up from just the memory of last night. Never in her life had she imagined sex could feel that good. She wasn't sure it was possible, last night was the stuff of legend.

"Ooooh! Details! How was he?" Riley giggled and Farkle shot her look to let her know he wasn't comfortable with the conversation, but she purposely didn't see it.

Maya couldn't resist telling her. "Best I've ever had. It was like a dream." She said in hushed tones, not wanting to be overheard.

"Seriously?" Riley and Farkle said in unison. Maya nodded and held up 5 fingers just to prove her point.

"In one night." Both of her friends couldn't believe it. Five?

"There you guys are." Lucas said, sitting down with his lunch. It took Farkle and Riley a moment look up they were so interested in what Maya was telling him.

"What are y'all talking about?" He asked.

"The best sex of Mayas life." Riley stated bluntly and Maya laughed.

"5 times in one night." Farkle added and Maya simply nodded to confirm their allegations. Lucas' eyebrows shot up.

"Not a chance. I'm calling bullshit." He scoffed. Maya shrugged.

"I'm not lying." With that the conversation was dropped. Maya wasn't the best at 'kiss and tell' and she felt she'd already shared too much about her experiences the previous night.

After a quiet lunch Maya remembered she had a class. She packed up her things and turned to Lucas who'd tapped her on the shoulder.

"I'm still helping you with your art project later right?" He asked.

"Yes please. You're a lifesaver Huckleberry."

* * *

Maya was painting when there was knock on the door. She quickly dropped her paintbrush in water and tried to open the door without getting oil paint over everything as it was covering her hands. The stuff looked great if you could actually get it on the canvas.

"Oh hi Lucas come on in." She said and turned back into her room.

Lucas stepped inside quickly and shut the door behind him. In an instant his arms were wrapped around her middle,pressing her against the wall in a passionate embrace. Maya, forgetting all about the paint that was all over her ran her fingers across his smooth cheeks and into his hair, enjoying the taste of tangerines once more.

"The best you've ever had?" He asked cheekily as he started to kiss her neck, nibbling his way downwards and started to undo her blouses buttons.

"Exaggeration if I ever heard one." She mocked back and heard him chuckle.

"I guess I'll just have to try harder this time then." He replied and quickly gripped the inside of her thighs, raising her up against the wall so he was carrying her. Once sure she was at the right height Lucas stepped inwards and wrapped her legs around his hips. Her head was now above his and her honey scented hair was brushing up against his face. It tickled so her lightly tucked it behind her ears.

She had now covered lots of his hair, cheeks and neck in paint from where she'd touched him. He finally noticed and smeared a little paint off his cheek and ran it down her left cheek like war paint. They both froze for a moment, the only sound their own heavy breath as their lips touched once more as he carried her over to the bed. Without undressing himself he'd managed to get her shirt and bra off and was now working of her jeans. They slid off, as did the underwear leaving her entirely exposed. After a brisk and rough kiss he started to sink downwards to between her legs. Here he went again.

At the clock hit 7 'o' clock Maya started to get moving but Lucas pulled her back into bed, holding her close to his chest. She softened for a moment, leaning back on him and relaxing herself but then she was up too quickly for him to stop her.

"I'm going to be late for meeting Riley." Maya pointed out, expecting him to get up and start getting dressed but he remained put.

"Cancel. Stay. Please." He asked. She shook her head furiously.

"She'll come looking for me. Just come with me, you were invited."

Lucas' eyes narrowed, watching her dress in a tight little red dress that emphasised her curves. "Are you going to tell Riley about us?"

"No!" She said instantly. "There's nothing to tell her, that was the last time."

"You said that the last time." He teased.

"This time you took me by surprise." She pointed out. "I'm serious, this is the last time. We're friends, that's all, and we blame these past few times on...alcohol and loneliness or something." She started to brush her hair and Lucas jumped up,still fully nude and placed a kiss just beneath her earlobe. She lightly pushed him away but wasn't as serious about it as she wanted herself to be. He trailed kisses downwards and rested his chin on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her stomach.

"Maya..."

"Don't 'Maya' me, we've had this conversation before."

"But it needs to be had."

"Not if this is the last time." She moaned and Lucas backed off.

"Fine. If this really is the last time when I won't bother you. But when this happens again, not if, when, it happens again we're having this conversation." Maya snorted.

"You underestimate me." She simply stated. "Now put your fucking clothes!" She laughed as she realized he was still waltzing around with nothing on. He started to dance around a little and made it impossible for Maya to put her shoes on she was laughing so much.

"So I take it you're not going to tell Riley about me ever?" He said, starting to put his own clothes on. He probably shouldn't hang around her place for too long.

"No." Maya said firmly. "You two dated, she'd never forgive me."

"One date." Lucas muttered.

"It doesn't matter. The first few months of high school she was obsessed with you. Just because it didn't work out with the two of you, and because she's dating Farkle now, doesn't give me her permission to...enjoy your company. However casual it may be."

"Enjoy my company? Just say sex Maya." She threw his shoe at him and it smacked him in the shoulder.

"You're the devil." She snapped, only half joking.

"I would have thought I was a God by how you were crying that name out an hour ago." The other shoe smacked him round the head.

"Goodbye Lucas." Maya said, putting on the last of her make up and heading for the door.

"Don't I get a kiss goodbye?" He joked. Maya sweetly smiled and visibly softened her body a little. Lucas smirked. He knew he'd get her.

"I'm sorry Lucas, I did forgot to do something." With that she flipped him the bird and shut the door behind her, leaving him chuckling away.

She couldn't take him seriously. Although Maya knew she'd said before that it was the last time for them, this time it had to be. Sure, he was amazing. Like, really, really amazing, but it wasn't worth the sacrifice of losing Riley.

Besides, Lucas only wanted to confirm that they weren't sleeping with other people or something. It wasn't like he was really interested in Maya, she told herself, he was just enjoying her company. Eventually he would get bored with her and move on. And that was fine, but there was no point trying anything. Better just to keep it casual. Lucas had never had a serious girlfriend in his life. He slept around and he was gone by the morning, no big deal. And Maya was pretty much the same. A couple relationships since high school, with a scattered mix of brief mistakes and flings in the middle. A couple dates with something always confirmed her suspicions that they weren't right for her.

She admired Riley. When the new kid, Farkle had asked her out about halfway through their first year of high school Riley, although she'd been doubtful at first, had said yes and never looked back. Turns out Farkle was a really good guy, even if he was a total dork in Maya's opinion. Riley and him had a lot of similar interests, although a lot of the same ones too and seemed to be perfect for each other. Now in their third year of college and they were still happy together. But to Maya they were exception to the rule. In her experience relationships never lasted, and were hardly worth the hassle.

* * *

"Maya!" Riley cheered as she walked into the local bar. Farkle and Zay were both beside her sipping away at their drinks and chatting. Maya waves and takes a seat.

"We're celebrating!" Farkle announces and Zay looks a little embarrassed. A girl joins him from the side looking her pretty in a lovely skirt and black shirt. She's got dozens of freckles and a mass of ginger hair that makes her face seem to glow. She takes hold of Zay's hand and Maya grins. Riley claps her hands.

"Everyone, this is Lucy. She's in my class and...she's my girlfriend!" Everybody looks at Lucy who nods her head to confirm.

"Hello! It's lovely to meet you all." She shakes everyone's hand individuality and they introduce themselves. "I've heard so much about each of you. Where is...Lucas?"

"He's text me, he's not coming." Riley says in an apologetic tone. "Apparently he's sick, but I think he's not telling the truth."

"Really?" Farkle asks and Maya tries to look uninterested.

"He's just been a little secretive recently. I think he's got a girlfriend he's not telling us about!" Riley smiles and everybody looks a little surprised. This was not good. Not good at all.

"I don't think that's it." Maya says quickly but casually. "He couldn't help me with my project earlier either, he said he was sick then too."

"He's probably just still with her. Think about it!"

"I'd rather not." Maya mutters under her breath.

"He keeps telling me he's busy, he hasn't been with a girl in ages and he seems a lot happier in the last couple months."

"Hey!" Zay says likes he's just remembered something. "He slept with some girl after Maya's birthday party a few months ago."

"Really?" Riley asks. Maya bites her lips. She remembers that night.

* * *

 _Maya checked her phone yet again for a text message, but it was already past 12 and she'd not received a single text from either of her parents. Yet again, they'd missed her birthday._

 _Already a little tipsy, Maya decided to join in a drinking game that was happening in the kitchen. Lucas has invited her and although she thought it was stupid, she decided to join in. Screw her parents. She wanted to have a little fun._

 _The game was essentially truth or dare but with a twist. Whether it was a truth or a dare, it always began with a drink, and they span the bottle to decide who was up next to get a turn rather than just going in a circle. That meant that some people were really drunk and others weren't at all._

 _Maya was chosen twice, but by this point she was already drunk without needing the bottle to point at her. The first time she told a truth, and had to decide whether in a life of death situation she would sleep with Zay or Farkle. Zay won but only because he wasn't the one dating Riley. Honestly she'd never thought of either of them in that way._

 _The second time she chose a dare and regretted it when Farkle was the one that got to chose the dare as he'd only just joined. Farkle really wanted her to do a forfeit which was bound to be way worse than any dare he could think of, so he thought of something she'd never do._

 _"I dare you to kiss Lucas!" He'd told her and Lucas had looked shocked. He glanced down at Maya who was standing to his left and wasn't sure of what to say._

 _"Farkle!" Lucas had yelled across the circle._

 _"Oh come on, she's never going to do it!" Farkle replied. Lucas turned back quickly to face Maya, relaxing a little that Farkle was right, she never would._

 _"Fine. I'll take the forfeit." She surrendered. If Lucas really didn't want to kiss her that badly, she wasn't going to force him. He could have at least tried to hide it though. The forfeit was easy, she just had to go up to some random guy and tell him he'd gotten her pregnant._

 _After, Maya didn't feel like playing anymore and wondered upstairs to where nobody was supposed to be going. She sat down in the hallway and tried to forget how terrible this birthday had been. Sadly, Riley was sick and wasn't even there to tell her to cheer up._

 _"Maya?" Lucas said and she stood up to walk away before realizing there was nowhere to go. He saw her and came forward, not saying another word and caught her lips with his. She didn't think about what she was doing and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back so passionately he nearly lost balance. When she started to think she backed away, staring at him like he was a demon._

 _"I'm leaving." She said quickly and paced away._

 _She'd only been home for 15 minutes when he knocked on the door._

 _"Can I come in?" He asked weakly and she walked back into her place, leaving her door open for him._

 _"You take your games way too seriously." She turned to him and said._

 _"I know. I just thought it was rude of me to not kiss you. It felt like a jerk."_

 _"I didn't want to kiss you, I wasn't offended or upset, don't worry Huckleberry."_

 _"Don't call me Huckleberry" He moaned._

 _"Don't call me Huckleberry!" She repeated in funny accent and he sighed._

 _"That's not what I sound like."_

 _"No, you're right. You sound like.." He knew what was about to happen. She'd been doing the same thing to him since they'd met. "Ha Huuuuuur" She rushed forward to his face to make a face but as soon as she got close Lucas placed her hand on her cheeks and kissed her. She stumbled. Mainly because she was a little drunk, but mainly because she was surprised. It didn't take long before they were both rolling around beneath the sheets._

 _In the morning she'd left immediately to go see Riley as she felt terrible. She'd blamed the alcohol and so did Lucas when they'd spoken about it later that day. They said it had been a mistake._

 _Sadly, it was a mistake they kept making._

* * *

"He told you he did?" Maya queried.

"Yeah, I noticed he was humming a lot. He does that when he's in a good mood and I bothered him until he told me. Apparently it was some girl from the party. He said she was really good, maybe it was enough to break his rule of not dating anybody."

"It's gotta be her!" Riley agreed.

"Hang on, I thought Lucas Friar doesn't date? My friend was interested in him and she heard all kinds of things about how he doesn't have girlfriends." Lucy pointed out.

"He doesn't, that's why we're so surprised." Zay replied.

They spent the rest of the evening discussing Lucas' new 'girlfriend' and his sexual history. Zay shared all the funniest stories involving Lucas hooking up with somebody, like the time he lost his pants and had to walk home in his underwear. Maya just kept her mouth shut and tried to beg the earth to swallow her up.

She eventually excused herself and said she was feeling tired and headed home, feeling deflated and angry at herself. How had she become just another name on Lucas' list?

Her room seems like a wonderful escape from everything. At least she can go to sleep and not have to think about her guilt for another 8 hours.

"Hi honey! You're home!" Lucas says, slouched on her bed reading a book.

"Lucas what the hell?" Maya demands.

"What? I wasn't feeling well, so I thought I'd just stay here and relax. Your housemates are so quiet, it's so peaceful."

"You need to leave." She simply says. She's exhausted, talking to him is the last thing she wants to do.

"Awh come on, we used to hang all the time. Now all you seem to want me for is sex." She jokes, but she does not laugh. "Sorry, sorry. All I mean is we haven't done anything normal together in a while. And if we're stopping the sex, which for the record I am not in support of, then we should get used to doing normal things again. Like watching a nice movie." She eyes him up, suspicious of his newfound desire to just hang out.

"Fine. But I get to pick the movie."

"Alright, I like anything." She threw on some action movie she'd bought a few weeks ago and got dressed into a t-shirt and loose shorts. Her pyjamas were too warm for tonight.

As the movie progressed, Lucas got closer and closer to Maya, trying to make it so she didn't notice. Eventually she was slumped against his side, his arm around, gently twirling her arm in his finger. She felt warm, comfortable and far too good considering how much she could hurt her friend by doing this. She convinced herself she wasn't doing anything wrong. She'd do this kind of thing with anyone of her friends.

"This is nice." Lucas commented offhandedly.

"I guess." She didn't want to admit anything, but she couldn't deny anything either. She was in conflict with herself. Turning to glance up at Lucas, she noticed her was not watching the movie and instead his focus was entirely on her.

He looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time, like he couldn't quite believe his eyes. He looked at her like she was the only one and only thing in the universe at that moment. The way he looked at her made her feel something she'd never felt before; wanted.

Cautiously she brushed her lips against his, and he didn't react too strongly. He remained still, wanting her to be sure before she made any kind of move. It had to be her decision.

"God dam it hop-along." She muttered and kissed him again. She breathed him like he was her only source of air, and he clung on to her like he never wanted to let ago.

They fell asleep in each others arms, still fully clothed but both uncontrollably happy for the first time in a long time. Any complications could be left until the morning because there was bound to be far too many to handle in that moment. Besides, all they wanted to do was relax with each other, both momentarily forgetting their history and anything that had held them back before.

Life would be easier, they both noted, if they didn't have such a complicated past. However, it was what they had learnt over years of friendship that had led to this moment being so important.

Maya momentarily woke up as light was pouring in from the side of the curtains. Lucas was still cuddled up beside her, his sweet face calm and so beautiful. For a brief second she felt like she was on a high. But with the morning drawing closer, Maya had a bad feeling she was coming down from it, and she might hit the ground harder than she intended.

Maya was a full believer that love was too violent to be worth the hassle. You fell in love, you fall head over heels, you're left with a broken heart. To Maya, love was already destructive in it's own right. The mere idea of love scared her.

But loving Lucas? That terrified her to her very core.

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading! This is obviously going to be a multi chapter fic, and the next chapter will be up asap! In the meantime, reviews are really appreciated for ideas or comments. Any type of feedback is much appreciated :)_


	2. The Morning After

As Maya awoke she smelt fresh coffee by her bedside and smiled, stre t ching out her arm to try and feel for Lucas but he wasn't there. Sitting up, still a little dazed, Maya looked around to see Lucas sitting at her desk and studying away. Training to be a vet didn't leave a lot of time for recreation. Maya silently crept out of bed and moved over to him, hugging him from behind and kissing his cheek.

"Mmm, morning." Lucas smiled. "I could get used to this."

"I could get used to coffee!" Maya happily skipped over and grabbed a t - shirt and shorts, slipping them on before she took a sip of the coffee.

"Ooh, it's still warm." She observed as Lucas swung round his chair to look at her. She looked so casual and stunning in the morning. She was radiant.

"It should be. It's the 4th one I've made. I wanted you to wake up naturally to a hot cup of coffe e but I forgot I get up too early. Can't seem to shake the habit." He was referring to his old Texan ways on the farm, but didn't want to say it in case Maya teased him about it. He knew she was kidding of course, but it wasn't always nice recalling his home and the person he used to be.

"Thank you. It's a lovely thought, I'm touched." She looked at the clock. Still only 9 'o' clock. He must have been up for a long time as he'd gone home and picked up his work. "You work so hard."

"I need to. And no harder than you, you're the one working on both your art and your teaching. I know how stressed that makes you."

"Don't try to turn this around. You've been up for ages, working hard and making me coffee." She took another sip of her coffee to make a point. "Let me make it up to you."

"I like the sound of that." Lucas said playfully, but shook his head still. "But you don't have to." Maya didn't care, she was on cloud nine and he'd made her feel even better which she didn't even think was possible.

"I want to." She expected him to say something flirty in return, to play the game and mess around like they normally did.

"Okay, have dinner with me. Tonight." Lucas offered. "It's actually why I'm doing all this work now so that I have time free tonight." Maya wavered. She knew she shouldn't waver. Going by last night, he had every right to assume that she was agreeing to his whole mutual relationship thing. But still, things were always going to be complicated.

"Come on, I know you want to. Just try to forget about Riley. Don't be so self sacrificing all the time. It's not good for you." She drowned the rest of her coffee which trying to think.

"We go to a restaurant out of town, and we don't tell anyone we're hanging out together. That's my only offer." He grimaced.

"Deal. Kiss on it?" He teased and she pecked him on the lips.

"You in the middle of something?" She asked, gesturing towards his work.

"Just finished a write up. I have a little time if you wanted me?"

"I was just going to jump in the shower." She shrugged, moving towards her bathroom. "And I thought you could join me?" He didn't need to be asked twice.

* * *

Maya sat in the art studio trying to continue her coursework but kept thinking about what she was doing. She was making a terrible mistake by getting involved this heavily with Lucas. Sleeping together meant it was casual, and possible to come back from. But a date? I f it went wrong, it would create tension, and it made it serious. It would hurt Riley if they slept together, but it would probably hurt worse if they were dating. And if Maya didn't tell her, then she'd feel awful. But she couldn't risk telling Riley and Riley hating her.

No. It was best to just see if her and Lucas were going anywhere, rather than risking Riley over some dumb fling. Because at the moment, that's all it was. Lucas would get bored of her eventually and go on to the next girl. It always happened.

* * *

"Move over." Lucas said, jumping onto the couch next to Maya. It was a few weeks before he'd first slept with Maya, and he was supposed to be going on a third date with a girl from Farkle's class.

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked, moving herself, her blanket and her bowl of popcorn over to one side of the couch so he had room. He sat next to her and stole half the blanket and a handful of popcorn.

"I left early. She was cool, but I just wasn't feeling it." He shrugged it off. Yet another name on his list, not a big deal. "What are we watching?" He asked, moving right along with the conversation.

"Marley and me." Maya said, showing him the case.

"Isn't this the one where the dog dies at the end?" He asked and realized by her expression that Maya hadn't in fact seen the movie before. The pillow next to her was quickly grabbed and hit the back of his head.

"You...jerk...how...could...you...ruin...it?!" She yelled between hitting him lightly with the pillow. He yanked it off her, laughing too much to hit her back. She clutched her sides as she tried to stop giggling. Eventually they both managed to quiet down and Lucas passed her back the pillow. He caught her eye and neither of them moved for a moment. His eyes flickered between her lips and her eyes, uncertain as to where to look. Finally she cleared her throat and looked away, pegging any emotions or impulses she was feeling up to the moment.

"Okay let's watch the movie." Lucas said, awaiting her to press unpause.

"I'm sorry you're stuck here with me rather than off on some hot date." She said, pressing play on the movie and settling back into her seat, keeping a careful distance between her and Lucas.

"I don't mind at all."

* * *

This kind of thing would always happen, and then he'd just move on. It was a fact of nature. The earth would spin, the sun would rise, and Lucas would find a new date. But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy it while it lasted right? She was always careful, she was always trying to do the safe thing. She over-thought everything, it was just in her nature. Her father was the one that never used to think, Maya had learnt that wasn't the way to do things.

Maya shook her head, trying to shake out thoughts of Lucas out of her head to do her work. She blasted music to distract herself while she tried to write about brush work in early 19 th century artwork. It wasn't the best work she'd ever done, but she was done within a couple hours. And it helped her relax looking at all the art.

Printing it off and placing it in her bag for tomorrow, Maya tried to figure out what she should be doing next. Her eyes strayed to the padlocked cupboard in her open closet. Reaching under her desk, she tore away the tape that kept the key under there and unlocked the cupboard . She quickly made sure her own door was locked so none of her house mates would walk in. She shared a house with 2 other girls and one of their boyfriends, but luckily she was in the converted attic so she got an ensuite all to herself and there wasn't normally a reason to disturb her. She wished she'd gotten a house with Riley, but they went to classes on opposite sides of the campus and it was really impractical.

She was lucky to be able to afford this place, but she'd been saving for a while after her job as a waitress in high school, and now she worked as a bartender at a club. The tips pretty much doubled her already decent wage and she knew how lucky she was to have the job. Besides the fact a girl shared with her boyfriends meant they had one extra person paying rent.

Maya started to empty the large cupboard that everyone who saw it just assumed she kept her clothes in so all her paints and art supplies were laid out. Removing the mostly finished painting from behind her bed, she placed it on the easel and continued to paint the view from one of her windows. It overlooked a huge garden that belonged to the house next door, and Maya was painting it all. She'd spent so many afternoons and mornings since moving in looking out the window and carefully painting every individual flower and blade of grass. Maya was getting closer to her the bottom of the canvas now and she'd started to paint the flowers dying and withering. They weren't obviously, but Maya couldn't stop thinking of them in that way. Maybe it was her inner pessimist.

Her phone buzzed, stopping the music for second so Maya placed down her paintbrush to check it.

' Can I pick you up at 8? ' It was Lucas. She sighed. Forgetting her current situation was good for making her feel better, but it didn't help her decide what an earth to do. If she canceled now, she could end this. If she told Riley the truth...she shuddered, thinking of the worst case scenario .

She picked up the phone and pressed dial.

"Hello ?" Riley chimed from the other end of the phone.

"Hey Riley." She started pacing around the room.

"What's up pumpkin?"

"Nothing much, just felt like talking." She lied.

"You seemed a bit off last night , is everything okay?" Riley was concerned, and it Maya feel 1000x worse than before. This was it. She had to tell her. This was killing her.

"I'm just a little stressed with work and everything. But..did you want to have breakfast tomorrow? Before class."

"I'd love to! I feel like we haven't talked for real in ages. Work keeps us both so busy, it's frustrating ."

"Okay, I'll text you the details. How's your course going?"

"So great! We've just started a creative short writing part of the course and I'm loving it! I've got so many ideas and my prof essor loves them!" She sounded overjoyed, it was so nice to hear.

"I'm glad. You'll have to show me some. You know how much I love your writing."

"Of course! I'll bring one to breakfast! Right, I've got to head off Maya, I'll talk to you later. I can't wait for breakfast!"

"Bye." Maya pressed end call then rechecked her text from Lucas.

' See you then . '

She turned back to her painting, looking at the small flower bed of all white, damaged and dying flowers.

Maya mixed in some colors and added in the most perfect, vibrant and bright purple flower in the center of the flowers. Riley.

And she was determined to tell her the truth. She deserved to know.

* * *

Maya, all ready and dressed up for her date, carefully slid the painting back behind her paint, trying not to smudge anything. She'd leave it out, but she wasn't sure if Lucas would come back to her house. All of her paints were carefully locked back inside her cupboard and she carefully glanced round the room to make sure everything was paint free and tidy before heading out.

"Hey Maya, got a date?" Izzy, one of her housemates said as she tried to slip out without being noticed.

"No, I'm just hanging out with my friends." Maya nodded and Izzy raised her eyebrows.

"And by friends, you mean Lucas?" She smiled knowingly and Maya bit her lip.

"Well yes, but there's nothing going on between us."

"Oh okay." She turned back to her laptop and then clicked her fingers and looked up at Maya again. "Can you tell Lucas velvet rabbit please?"

"What?" Maya didn't know what she was talking about.

"We were having a conversation this morning about children's books when he was making you coffee for the third time and I just couldn't remember the name for the life of me."

"Shit." Maya blurted out.

"It's alright Maya." Izzy assured her. "Your secrets safe with me."

"Thank you!" Maya hugged her briefly out of gratitude. "You don't know how much that means."

"It's your life." She shrugged. "But for the record, I ship you two." She said cheekily and watched Maya get confused.

"Ship?"

"I'm rooting for you two. Now go on your date, you look fantastic!" Maya rushed off before she changed her mind. At least somebody was supporting the two of them, and that felt really nice.

Lucas was waiting outside for her in a lovely blue button down and jeans. He looked good. He kissed her cheek and smiled.

"You look beautiful." He commented and held out his hand. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Maya mumbled under her breath, her heart racing. She couldn't tell if it was fear, guilt or excitement. Or maybe it was a jumbled mix of all three. "Let's do this ."

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks so much for reading, and please review if you enjoyed! :)_


	3. The Breakfast

"Everything okay? You've been very quiet this evening." Lucas pointed out as they scrolled back from the town. They'd asked the taxi to drop them off so they could have a scroll.

"I'm okay." She bit her lip. " I just feel guilty is all."

"You put too much pressure on yourself, you know that?"

"I just don't want to keep any more secrets." Maya reasoned and Lucas took hold of her hand with caution.

"Does this make you feel bad? Because we don't have to. I want you to be happy Maya." She squeezed his hand in response. She didn't want him to think she was unhappy.

The truth was she was happier than she'd ever been. Having something like this happen had just never happened to Maya. She was surprised she wad lucky enough to have it happen, and honestly she was half just waiting for her luck to run out.

But that stop her stomach from fluttering with guilt every time she even thought of Riley. The friend that had been their through everything, the friend that had never left her. The only person she'd ever thought actually loved her like a sister would. Her best friend.

"You remind me of stars." Lucas commented, looking up.

"How?" Maya chuckled a little. He was probably going to say something so cliche she'd laugh at him.

"Everybody looks at stars and sees these beautiful, flickering lights and they think they're so small and gentle." This wasn't where she expected him to go. "But they're not."

"I'm not beautiful or small?"

"Let me finish." He teased. "Stars aren't gentle, they just appear to be. They're these huge, powerful things. But if you look for even a moment they're these beautiful masterpieces of art." Maya slowly let go of his hand and he looked a little worried.

"That's what you think of me?"

"I just...I mean you're more complex than you appear. I saw it immediately. You put on this tough front, but I never bought it." Maya stayed silent. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it."

"No...No I really liked it. Certainly not cliché like I'd imagined you'd be." Leaning up and kissing his cheek, Maya felt a different kind of fluttering in her stomach.

As they reached their door Maya wasn't too sure how to proceed. She didn't want him to come upstairs. This was the nicest "first" date she'd ever had and she didn't want it to not feel like a first date. She liked the idea of having a perfect memory too much,no matter how much she wouldn't mind him coming up to continue the evening.

"I had a wonderful evening Maya, thank you." Lucas said, stroking the hair just next to her face with the tips of his fingers.

"Pleasure was all mine." She said quietly, reaching up and kissing his cheek. He smiled and touched where she'd kissed with his hand. It filled Maya with a kind of warmness in her chest she'd not felt before. Such a simple action, but it felt the world to her.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow."

* * *

Maya awoke to the niceness message she'd seen in a while.

 _'Was last night a dream? Felt like it.'_

She grinned and rolled over in her nice, but surprisingly empty feeling bed. She wished she was waking up to Lucas again. Mostly because his coffee was amazing, but he was too.

It took her less than 15 minutes to get dressed and head to the cafe she was meeting Riley at. Her stomach was doing somersaults.

They sat down and Riley was talking about her course and the book she was reading which sounded lovely, although Maya wasn't sure she'd be able to sit and analyse the books and well.

"Oh. So I heard some news on the whole Lucas front." Maya near choked on the mouthful of waffle she had in her mouth.

"Mm?" This was it. She knew and she did not look happy.

"My friend overheard him talking about some girl in class the other day. Same girl he hooked up with at your birthday apparently." Maya felt a flare of jealousy rush through her body before she realized if he had been talking about her.

"Oh yeah, what's her name?" Maya tried to fake being casual.

"Didn't catch it."

"And you're okay with him dating somebody else?" Maya asked cautiously.

"Of course I am. Everything that happened with Lucas and I is in the past. It's practically ancient history. I just feel... sorry for the other girl." Riley sounded genuinely concerned. This was worrying.

"Why?" Maya tried to distract herself with staring at her waffles.

"Because it's Lucas. She probably thinks it's serious and he won't. You know what he's like." Maya nodded, trying to swallow the lump of waffles in her throat that were suddenly making her feel quite sick. "And he'll just break up with her and I just feel bad for her. But his reputation is known so I can't put all the blame on him. She might know what she's getting into."

"Maybe." Maya stood up slowly. "I have to go to the bathroom, can you watch my stuff?"

"Sure thing Peaches." Maya couldn't get out of there fast enough. Her heart was racing, she could feel her pulse throbbing in her head. It was like everything hit her so fast. She'd been trying to ignore every bad feeling, every doubt she had about Lucas for so long and now they were all just coming bursting to the surface.

She had to be strong, and face what she had done. Nothing was going to get better if she just ignored it and kept pretending that everything was exactly like it was before, or ever would be again. She'd been sleeping with one of her best friends, and lying about it to somebody he used to date. Now she would face up to the consequences.

She stormed back outside to the café and sat down.

"Riley, you know I love you very much." She said in hushed tones. "And I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, or cause you misery."

"What's going on?" Riley asked. She looked so fragile and Maya almost backed out.

"I know who Lucas has been seeing. And it's me. I'm the one that Lucas hooked up with on the night of my party. I was upset and drunk and I wasn't thinking clearly. Then a while after that I got weak again, and I...I like him Riley. I know his reputation, and I'm not trying to pretend he's not the same guy, or that I've changed him. We're just dating. And I'm so so sorry, I wanted to tell you but I didn't know what to tell you, and I didn't want to risk our friendship if this thing with Lucas didn't involve any...feelings."

Riley's throat was dry. She tried to process everything that this meant.

"You have feelings for Lucas?" She finally said, looking at her best friends teary eyes and trying to not cry herself.

"I think I do. I'm so sorry Riley, can you please understand or try to forgive me?"

Maya watched as her best friend, sister practically, looked her up and down. These were the longest few seconds of Maya's life, waiting to see what Riley would say. This was it. This could be a deal breaker for them.

"Riley please say something."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, feedback is always appreciated!**


	4. The Reveal

"Riley please say something." Maya shook, her voice trembling as she feared the worst. Riley's head shook side to side by a barley half an inch, like she was trying to shake a thought out of head.

"Maya...you kept this from me?" She finally said, looking Maya in the eye, her hurt obvious.

"I didn't want to hurt you for no reason. I knew what I did with Lucas was a mistake, but I didn't want it to be the mistake that ruined our friendship." Tears dripped down Maya's face. This was the first time she'd ever cried in public, but she didn't care.

"I don't care you're with Lucas. I think it's great Maya!" Riley smiled. "You two have always gotten on so well, I can't believe I didn't see something before."

"Really?"

"Yes." She placed her hand over Maya's. "I'm just upset you thought you couldn't tell me. You lied to me, that's upsetting."

"I understand. I thought you'd feel betrayed or something."

"Maya, I haven't like Lucas in such a long time. Most of the time I forget I ever feel that way about him. I'm so happy with Farkle, I love him a million times more than I ever liked Lucas. There's not a chance I'd be upset with you." She moved round the table and hugged Maya, who buried her teary face into her shoulder.

"Thank you." Maya said in hushed tones and tried to get a hold of herself.

"You and Lucas! That's so exciting! You can be the one to tame the beast." Riley joked. Maya laughed through her tears.

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Trust me, if anyone can do it, it's you."

Maya left her lunch feeling better than she'd felt in months. She was practically skipping to class, she just couldn't contain her joy. She was finally being truthful with her wonderful friend and she'd just had the best date of her life. Everything just felt like it was falling into place.

* * *

Class began the usual way, checking out work process, looking and adding to coursework before Maya was given her new assignment. She looked at the front of the information she'd just been given.

Home.

Oh. That's not good. She listened to her lecturer as she circled the students circled around the room.

"Throughout history, art has captured lives, places and homes. You all know the phrase 'charity begins at home'? Well so does art. It's your familiar setting, it's the place you feel safe and at peace. The place you're happy in, and a place you can rely on to always be there. Before the end of the session, in a art form of your choice, I want you to draw your idea of home."

Maya only had a few hours, but she chose to paint something. Her drawing never had enough depth, and charcoal never seemed to be solid enough and she was in no way a sculpture.

Home. Somewhere you feel safe. Peaceful. Happy. Something you can always rely on. Was that really how people felt at home?

She started to mix her colors, sketching out the basics and getting straight into it. Her music went in, and the world suddenly failed to exist beyond her and the canvas in front of her.

Her brush glided along the edges with ease, the picture in her head was so vivid she didn't exactly need to pause and think. The base went on in about 10 minutes and after that Maya was doing it as carefully as possible.

After just over two hours, Maya was almost done and time was up. Her teacher was finally coming around to view the art.

"I made you do this so you understand an artist mindset when they paint something like home, so you can understand the thought process when you start to analyze other artists idea of home." She paused at the boy a couple seats down from Maya. "Very good Tim. Such a sweet piece."

Sweet? Maya finally glanced at the drawing next to her, down in watercolor pencils. It was a beautiful bit of art. A cheery, bright and pretty cottage, surrounded in dozens and dozens of little flowers. Oh god.

Maya wondered if the teacher wouldn't check hers, if there was some way she could stop her from seeing it but before Maya could formulate a plan, the teacher was stood behind her. Maya tried to explain.

"I know it's not right, I'll repeat the piece, I'm sorry."

"Ms Hart, don't be silly. This is beautiful. You understood the assignment just fine. It's unique, and that's important." Her teacher sounded pleased, but she didn't smile. She continued to stare at the painting.

Maya had drawn a living room. In the middle was a small blonde girl, sat up but curled up, hands around her bent legs, hugging them close. Her head was placed on them, hiding her face. A small table was to her right, with a note on it. Maya's teacher examined the small writing on it.

 _'Be back by 9 - Mom'_

The clock on the wall of the painting said 10 past 11. But that wasn't why the teacher wasn't smiling.

The room was dark, clearly in nighttime but what Maya had done with the shadows was strange. On the couch shadows that looked like clawed hands were stretching out, reaching for the child. Small orange lights, shaped like eyes hid in the doorway, looking straight at the little girl. Claw marks were scratched on the table, ripping the note slightly at the edge and a shadow on the other side of the room has a very distinct human look to it. The whole picture was terrifying, even to the teacher but in a good way. It gave her the creeps, but Maya didn't seemed affected at all.

Maya had learnt from a young age that the monsters under her bed weren't nearly as terrifying as the people they were supposed to scare.

"Maya, I'd like to speak to you after class." Her teacher said in hushed tones, and Maya simply nodded, embarrassed as other students started to try and look at her work.

After packing up her things and cleaning herself up, Maya rocked back and forward on her feet until the rest of the class had left.

"Look, I promise next time I'll just paint something normal." Maya tried to reason. She couldn't be in the teachers bad books, she needed as much help as she could get right now.

"I don't want that. Have confidence in yourself and your work Maya. You did that painting in just a couple of hours, and it was better than what most students here could do in weeks. You thought creatively, painted what you wanted to, from the heart and it paid off." She said.

"Thanks." That was nicer than she expected.

"Have you ever showed off your work? Other than in class I mean." She started to look through the array of papers on her desk.

"No."

"I'm running an art show in a couple months. Artists from the city. I want to use your art and sell it, if that's okay with you. I'd keep 15% of the profits, but the rest would be yours to keep for your studies. I can get you extra credit for your work, resources and the time in college to do your pieces. I'd expect at least one a week, which based on your performance today wouldn't be a problem?"

"I don't know what to say."

"This would be an amazing opportunity for you. You want to teach, correct?" Maya nodded. "This would help you. A successful artist wanting to teach would be catch for almost any school. This would really help give you a boost in the future."

"Y-You think my art is worth something?"

"I do. A lot of people would pay for work as passionate as yours, and it's always very special. I would show that painting you just did in there to a few people, and I could get a lot of buyers interested. It won't be thousands, but it'll certainly help with finances." This sounded amazing, the opportunity of a lifetime. So why did Maya feel sick to her stomach at the very thought?

"I'm aware it's a big commitment, so I can give you a few days to think about it. You have my email when you're ready to give me an answer."

"Yes, sure. I'll email you. Thank you, so much." Maya rushed out of the room before she started freaking out completely. This was unbelievable. Was this even happening?

Her teacher was right, this would help so much. But showing her art... she'd never done that out of class before. She'd never wanted to, and she'd been sure she'd never get the chance. She fumbled around in her bag and pulled out her phone.

"Lucas?"

"Hey there."

"Are you free? I need to talk to you." She blurted out.

"Are you alright? Is this about Riley? You text me saying everything was fine, what happened?" His voice was raised in alarm.

"No, no. Riley's great, everything fine, I just need to talk to you. I'm on the East campus, can I meet you on the quad?"

"Sure thing, I can meet you in 10?"

"See you then."

* * *

She told him the news before they'd even sat down. He lifted her up into the air, proper clique romantic comedy style, and span her around while he hugged her tight.

"Maya! This is amazing! You talented angel!" He planted a kiss on the very tip of her nose and she uncontrollably grinned. He placed her down but still kept his arms around her. She still felt like she was still flying around.

"But I've never shown my work to anybody. I've never wanted to before." She tried to reason.

"But you want to now, right?" She nodded cautiously.

"I think so." He pressed his lips delicately onto hers, tongue tracing her lips quickly, hand wrapped around the back of her neck, bringing her closer to him. Her hands gripped handfuls of his shirt to her chest.

Wrapped up in their own little world, neither noticed couple watching them. Riley and Farkle were hand in hand when they caught sight of the serious PDA that was happening on the quad.

Riley watched her best friend grinning at Lucas. Maya's face was soft, gentle and loving. A face she wasn't sure she'd ever seen before. It hurt. It hurt to see something Maya had been lying to her about.

"Let's leave them be." Riley said, kissing Farkle on the cheek, linking her arm around his and pulling him away.


	5. The New Feelings

Maya Hart was in love.

As she hummed to herself the tunes she adored, she noted her elevated mood and knew it was because of Lucas. Gone were her fears of this alien emotion, that was a worry for another day. Maya was on cloud nine right now, and nothing was going to bring her down.

Love wasn't exactly what she had expected it to be. She knew she core feeling, she, of course, loved her family. She familiar warmness and comfort she felt in their presence was love, and that she felt for Lucas. Even if that family was like her's, they were still her family.

She didn't miss him like she thought she would. She assumed when people said they missed their partner it was more of an ache in their stomach, or a longing. She wasn't feeling that. Maybe she would have if she was separated from him for a long time, but so far all she felt was a...desire to share her day. Not tell him about it exactly, but she'd see something funny and wish he was there to laugh with her. She made a cup of coffee and would have liked him to be there drinking with her. Not because she wanted the company, but because he would have liked the coffee.

She laughed his laugh. She loved his thing where he fiddled when he was nervous. She loved his little frown when he was concentrating. She loved how kind, and thoughtful and amazing he was.

Best of all, she loved she didn't have to hide how she felt about him anymore. Except with him. No way was she about to tell him what she was feeling.

'Fancy a picnic? XX'

She grinned, but then felt bad. She was painting, she didn't have time to have a picnic.

'I'm sorry, I don't have time to go out today. Raincheck? x'

'Who said you had to go outside? XX'

A knock came from the door immediately and caused Maya to laugh. Of course he'd already be here.

"Hey there." She said, swinging the door open and spotting the picnic basket.

"Before you say anything, I won't bother you, I'll just sit in here and prepare you some food. Have you eaten today?" Maya considered this. She skipped breakfast to get to her lecture in time, and hadn't had anything but coffee since. She checked the clock. Oh. It was almost 5pm.

"Okay, but you have to talk to me at least." She smirked and he leant down to kiss her. It was tender, his hand coming up to brush her cheek gently. It made her skin tingle. It was like he brought each of her cells to life.

He walked into the room and stopped instantly to look at what Maya was painting. A hand was clawing it's way out of the muddy ground to reach a white rose but the arms being restrained with barbed wire that was making the arm bleed. Lucas looked at the detail already gone into the unfinished painting. The wire looked like they were digging and slicing into the skin so realistically it caused Lucas to actually feel sympathy for the arm. It was...morbid but strangely beautiful.

He set up the picnic on the bed, pushing back all the bedding so it was a flat surface and laid everything out so Maya could pick out what she liked. She kept quiet, but occasionally kissed his check or touched his arm to let him know she was glad he was here.

Eventually Lucas was finished setting up and sat down to watch her paint. She felt her cheeks get hot, she didn't like the audience, but she kept going, glancing his way every so often as he ate.

"You know you're memorizing when you paint right?" Lucas commented quietly, a little grin on his face. Maya shakes her head, but she's smiling. He was so sweet. Putting down her paintbrush she goes and joins him on the bed, careful not to mess up or tip any of the food.

"It's nice to see you paint."

"It's only for class." Maya replied, biting into a sandwich triangle.

"Maybe you should put some of your pieces you have hidden behind your bed towards the show." Maya nearly choked on her mouthful of food.

"What?" She blurted out. "How did you know about those?"

"I kept seeing you with paint on your arms on clothes, I guessed you were painting up here. Then one day you left one of them poking out slightly. I promise I didn't look at more than 3." he sounded sorry at least.

"I do those as stress relief. They're not meant to be seen by anybody."

"I'm sorry, I promise I won't look behind there again." Maya nodded, knowing he felt bad. Still, they were her private things and she wasn't thrilled he looked at them.

"You're the first person I've ever let me see paint outside of class." Maya said after a few moments of silence.

"Really?"

"I feel too...vulnerable when I paint." She explained. "It's the only time I feel comfortable really, so I'm not thrilled when I'm watched." Lucas stretched out his hand and took hers lightly.

"Thank you for letting me see you." She stood up and kissed his cheek lightly. He brushed strands of her hair from her face and gently kissed her lips as she sat on his knees. He smiled against her mouth, too happy to concentrate on physical matters. Being with Maya was unlike any women he'd been with before. He'd never been emotionally attached before, he was in love with another person. And now he could kiss her, hug her, hold her hand. But most of the time all he wanted to do was just be around her. He loved to stare into her eyes. and just talk to her. Cuddling up with her to watch a movie gave him just as much enjoyment as being in bed with her. It was such a new, wonderful feeling.

"Everything okay?" She asked, tilting her head to the side to examine his face.

"Of course." He answered gently. "You're here." She kissed him again and this time he responded more vigorously. He pulled her closer, hands running threw her hair. She was warm, and she felt so precious in his hands.

Lucas' phone was buzzing but he ignored it. It took 3 phone calls in the span of a minute for Lucas to sigh and answer the call. His smile dropped immediately and Maya noticed his face was losing color. She gripped onto his hand and he clung to it like a vice.

"I understand. I'll be there as soon as I can." Lucas said and hung up the phone. He fell into the desk chair and his eyes were glistening with tears. Maya joined him kneeling on the floor.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked frantically.

"Um...it's my dad. He had a heart attack. I have to get to Texas to see him." He got up, and Maya processed what he just said. She nodded and hugged him. It took him a second to register the contact and to hug her back.

"I'm sorry Lucas. I'm sure he'll be alright." She focused on a plan and got to her laptop, pulling up a train schedule. Next train would be a couple of hours. Plenty of time.

"What are you doing?" He asked, still dazed.

"Booking you a train ticket." She stated.

"Maya." He pulled her up to look at her and bit his lip nervously. "Would you...please come with me? My family and I have a complicated history, and I could really use your support."

"Of course." Maya said, kissing his lips briefly before continuing to book tickets. She'd figure out about classes and everything else later. "We have a few hours, you need to go home and pack. I'll meet you at your place in a hour and we can head to the station, I'll book us a taxi. You sure you're going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine. He's tough, he'll get through this. There's no need for me to worry." He didn't sound so convinced.

"You'll be seeing him soon Lucas, don't worry. Just go and pack and I'll sort out the rest" She assured him.

This was not going to be good. Maya could sense it. She knew what his family were like. She'd just agreed to a nightmare.


End file.
